Module 2:

Electromagnetic waves
Lecture Hours 7

Physics of divergence - gradient and curl - Qualitative

understanding of surface and volume integral -
Maxwell Equations (Qualitative) - Continuity equation
for current densities - Displacement current -
Electromagnetic wave equation in free space - Plane
electromagnetic waves in free space - Hertz’s
experiment.

Text books to be followed:

H. D. Young and R. A. Freedman, University Physics with Modern Physics,
2020, 15th Edition, Pearson, USA.
An electromagnetic wave is a traveling wave that has time-varying electric and magnetic
fields that are perpendicular to each other and the direction of propagation z.
Electromagnetic wave equation in free space
The electric field describes an electromagnetic wave completely in free space. The
magnetic field is related to the electric field by a simple relationship. Start from
Faraday's law.

Work on the left side first. Substitute the one dimensional wave equation for electricity
and find its curl.

Work on the right side second. Substitute the one dimensional wave equation for
magnetism and find its time derivative.
Well, we actually cancelled out too much stuff. This relationship holds true for
all field values, not just the maximum. The ratio of the electric to magnetic
fields in an electromagnetic wave in free space is always equal to the speed of
light.
 Continuity equation

A continuity equation is a differential equation that describes the conservative

transport of some kind of quantity. Since mass, energy, momentum, and other
natural quantities are conserved, a vast variety of physics may be described with
continuity equations. Continuity equations are the (stronger) local form of
conservation laws.

General

The general form for a continuity equation is

where is some quantity, ƒ is a function describing the flux of , and s describes the
generation (or removal) of . This equation may be derived by considering the
fluxes in and on an infinitesimal box. This general equation may be used to derive
any continuity equation, ranging from as simple as the volume continuity equation to
as complicated as the advection equation.
Electromagnetic theory
In electromagnetic theory, the continuity equation is derived from two of Maxwell's
equations. It states that the divergence of the current density is equal to the
negative rate of change of the charge density,
Interpretation

Current density is the movement of charge density. The continuity equation says
that if charge is moving out of a differential volume (i.e. divergence of current density
is positive) then the amount of charge within that volume is going to decrease, so
the rate of change of charge density is negative. Therefore the continuity equation
amounts to a conservation of charge
Displacement Current - Ampere-Maxwell Law
Displacement current is a quantity appearing in Maxwell’s equations. Displacement
current definition is defined in terms of the rate of change of the electric displacement
field (D).
Displacement Current Equation
Displacement current has the same unit and effect on the magnetic field as is for
conduction current depicted by Maxwell’s equation-